Larger Than Life
by Legacy Now
Summary: Sally's a teen pop princess. Jack's an intern on the set of her studio. They have one thing in common: they both want something better in life. VERY VERY AU
1. Stage Name

**Larger Than Life**

_Chapter One _

Stage Name

~*~

_She's so lucky, she's a star _

_But she cry, cry, cries in her lonely heart, thinking _

_If there's nothing missing in my life _

_Then why do these tears come at night? _

**- Lucky - Britney Spears **

* * *

Inhaling a lung of air, Sally opened her eyes as she felt the makeup brush on her cheeks. The makeup assistant was chewing gum, glancing at Sally plainly as if she did this for the hundredth time. The lady's hair was dark with thousands of curls on her head. She was a little bit plump, but her overall outfit made her look appealing.

"We're almost done, Bianca, sweetie," said the woman, carrying a thick Brooklyn accent. "Once the eyebrows are done, you're good to go."

_Bianca_.

Bianca Fierce. That was her stage name. Her real name was Sarah Amelia Ragdaul. Her manager, Robert Finklestein, was about to pick a name for her, but Sally wanted it to be more personal. "Bianca" was the name of her late mother. "Fierce" was a quality that she severely lacked, but wished she had. She was proud of the name, and felt that it stated her identity.

"All done!" smiled the assistant. "Good luck with the video."

A weak smile was across her face and she nodded towards the woman.

"Thank you..."

Once she appeared on the set, the director took notice of her arrival and welcomed her. "Alright people! Places! Places! We're about to film!"

The set mimicked an outdoor roller skating arena, graffiti on the walls and cinder blocks. The dancers were dressed in attire appropriate for rollerskating, making the area authentic and realistic.

She took her place on the stage with the dancers, smiling at them as they greeted her.

"_What A Girl Wants_, Bianca Fierce. Take one...!"

Dancing the choreography, she put on a big, bright smile and looked at the camera. Music began to play, and she started to mouth the words to the song she spent many hours recording.

"I wanna thank you for giving me time to breathe, like a rock, you waited so patiently.  While I got it together...  While I figured it out  I only looked, but I never touched.  'Cause in my heart was a picture of us.  Holding hands, making plans, and it's lucky for me you understand... What a girl wants, what a girl needs.  Whatever makes me happy sets you free, and I'm thanking you for knowing exactly  what a girl wants, what a girl needs, whatever keeps me in your arms, and I'm thanking you for giving it to me."

A shrill ring from the bell meant that it was time to stop.

"Cut! Okay, people, let's try that again. From the top!"

A muffled groan was heard and everyone rushed back to their positions, posing in the beginning of the dance.

A slow, painful sting was stabbing at Sally's heart. Even though people surrounded her, Sally couldn't help but feel isolated.

* * *

"Do I have to be an intern at the studio, dad?" Jack Stephenson sighed as he sipped his coffee at the table.

Jack was planning a hockey trip with friends who were teammates on a professional hockey team, but it seems that his father, head security guard of pop singer Bianca Fierce, had other plans. He was looking forward to this trip for a long time. He hadn't seen some of his friends for a while, since they went off to separate high schools before junior high ended.

"The other intern just got injured," said Mr. Stephenson, stirring the "less-than-edible" stew on the stove top. "It's only for a week, and we really need someone to replace him."

Zero, the family's German shepherd, went to Jack's side and began to pant at his feet. Jack smiled and went to the kitchen cupboards to get him a treat. The family named him Zero for being the unofficial member of the security team. Jack thought it was a cleaver idea. His father would sometimes bring Zero to work, but nothing at the studio was too serious that needed Zero's assistance.

Turning back to a frown, Jack looked at his father.

"I mean... Bianca's just another blown up pop star," began Jack, plugging his noes from the smell of the stew. "Seen one you've seen them all. You know how these types are... Snobby... arrogant."

"From what I heard around the studio, Bianca seems polite," mused Mr. Stephenson. "She seems like a decent human being."

Jack smirked in amusement. To him, "polite pop star" is an oxymoron.

"Tell you what," began Mr. Stephenson, poking at a chuck of something that was formally a potato. "How about you come over to the studio in the morning, then once you're done, you can go with your friends? That sounds like a win-win situation."

Jack went back to the table, feeling mortified for serving an acclaimed "good natured" pop star.

Mr. Stephenson showed Jack the pot, and the contents looked completely unappetizing to describe. Jack's stomach cringed with uneasiness.

"You hungry?"

* * *

**Author's Note**

Hey there, people! This is my first "The Nightmare Before Christmas" fic. Beware... THIS IS AU. VERY VERY VERY AU 8)

For the sake of laziness, I'm going to use songs from other artists. I might write original songs, but I am very writer's blocked right now... haha! I don't own "What A Girl Wants" by Christina Aguilera. Nor NBC.

I will try my best with Jack's character. Hope I made him IC enough... 8( If not, so sorry! He's usually enthusiastic and stuff, but if he was like that in real life... it wouldn't work out. So some modifications were made. So sorry!

Peace!


	2. Escape

_I'm standing on a bridge.  I'm waiting in the dark . I thought that you'd be here by now . There's nothing but the rain . No footsteps on the ground . I'm listening but there's no sound . Isn't anyone trying to find me?  Won't somebody come take me home?_

_It's a damn cold night . Trying to figure out this life . Won't you take me by the hand , take me somewhere new . I don't know who you are , but I... I'm with you.  I'm with you._

**- I'm With You - Avril Lavigne**

* * *

**Larger Than Life **

_Chapter Two_

_Escape_

~*~

Learning the ropes of an intern was easy for Jack. The errands consist of odd jobs, for example getting paper work for the executives, doing small scale cleaning jobs, and getting food and drinks for various people. He ran into some snobbish characters along the way, but he waved them off and didn't pay any attention to them. He had better things to do, such as keeping his job. Even though he was at the studio for more than two days, he did not come by the famous singer, Bianca Fierce. Jack wondered where she was in the studio, only momentarily for Jack didn't mind. He could care less about the young celebrity. The job's duration lasted a week, and two days have passed. Jack would be in bliss when the seventh day came around the corner and he could escape this world of artificial beauty and arrogant celebrities.

While he was driving the cleaning cart back to the closet, Jack noticed a figure wearing an overwhelming hoodie, obviously two or three sizes too large. It hung off of her thin frame. He assumed it was a girl, since the hoodie had pink etchings printed on it. Only employees were allowed to be in the area he was in. No outsiders were allowed to wander in there. It was security's job, but Jack had to get the girl out of here.

"Excuse me," he dully began. "This is a private area. You're not supposed to be here."

Turning, a pair of designer sunglasses looked back at him. The girl's height was shorter than Jack's, her head coming up to about his shoulder. Through her hood, strings of red hair flowed. She wasn't much different then the other girls he'd seen who tried to sneak in but she seemed... _different_, in a good way. Her plain pink lips began to mouth something.

_"Help me..." _

His eyes squinted, unsure of what she said. "What?"

'Help her with what?' Jack mused.

The girl's head turned when a beefy security guard (Jack nicknamed him 'Steroid Man') walked across the hall a corridor away. She grabbed Jack's hand, throwing him off balance, and began to sprint.

"Wait...!" the intern breathed. With his height, he was usually the one who dragged people.

Jack tried to get out of her unusually strong grasp, but every time his hand squirmed in the limited space she allowed his wrist, her grip just kept getting tighter, turning his knuckles white. Who was this girl? Was she a thief snooping around the studio, or a crazed Bianca fan?

'This is some serious dedication,' Jack thought in disbelief.

But why was she dragging _him _around? He hadn't even met the star!

"Hold on, stop please...!" Jack panted.

He was starting to lose motion in his hand, the girls nails starting to dig into his wrist. Jack just about stumbled over a box of costumes that sat in the middle of the hall. In the nick of time, he jumped over the box, further throwing himself out of balance. The frantic racing was pulled to a halt, and they were both outside of the studio, the warm air rushing past the two. The wind blew Jack's chocolate hair and the girl's strawberry hair in odd directions. Fuming, Jack was furious at the stranger. He was lucky the girls careless pulling didn't hurt him.

"What... the hell..." he panted, trying to catch his breath and glare at the same time. "Is wrong with you?! I almost broke a leg because of you!"

Jack winced at the mental image, glad he survived in one piece. The woman kept a stiff face, but her body language was screaming in fear. The young man scoffed, his hands turning into fist.

"I'm stuck in this hole with a bunch of airheads!"

Turning, Jack saw a discomforting look across the girl's face. He rubbed the back of his neck, wishing he could take his words back.

"You're... with the studio, right?" he quietly asked.

She shyly nodded and muttered, "Yeah..."

She sounded hurt. Even though she nearly injured him, Jack wished there was some way to make her feel better.

"I'm so sorry... You want me to get you something to drink? It's the only way I can apologize."

Her head shook a quick 'no'.

"I have to, please let me. I really take back what I said about the studio... It's been a long week for me. It's hot anyways, so why not get something cool to drink?"

Jack grabbed for the woman's hand. The sunglasses looked up at him, expressing emotions that didn't need volume. One perfect eyebrow arching.

"Oh, man, I'm so sorry again. I didn't introduce myself. I'm Jack, Jack Stephenson. What's your name?"

The woman took off her sunglasses, revealing hazel irises that glowed in the bright sunlight.

"I'm... Sally," She murmured, not quite meeting his eyes.

Jack watched her face blush and she looked up, her brow crinkling.

"Do I have something in my teeth?" asked Sally, self consciously raising her hand to her mouth.

Jack blinked and said, "what?"

"Well you're staring," she retorted with a slight smirk.

"Oh, uh sorry. It's just-" He could feel his face flush, hoping and praying that Sally didn't see it.

"Er, it's so warm out here and I thought you might overheat in that hoodie."

_Your eyes are so pretty..._

He was grateful that he didn't say that out loud. Embarrassment was all over his face just thinking about her response.

Sally let out a small smile at his obviously forged answer, "Alright..."

"Now tell me, why did you drag me down a hallway from 'Steroid Man'?"

Sally started at him funny.

"Who?"

* * *

**Note~***

**QueenSkellington** is the official co-author of this story. :D *heart*


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